Floyd Sandoval Gets Life for Five-Pound Pot Deal That Ended in Murder

Last October, we told you about the arrest of Floyd Sandoval for the murder of John Goggin in Edgewater. At the time, investigators were keeping their theories about motive to themselves. But at trial, prosecutors said Sandoval and a cohort killed Goggin over five pounds of pot. Now, Sandoval has been found guilty and will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Photos, a video and more details below.

Sandoval's Facebook page, which remains online at this writing, portrays him as a family man, albeit one who's had occasional run-ins with the law.

As we noted in our previous coverage, the photos shared on the page vary widely: shots of Tupac Shakur and Tony Montana from Scarface, several vivid images of stitches, a gun-range shot, pics of sumptuous meals for people and dogs (the most recent post features a juicy bone). But most prevalent are photos of his kids and portraits like this one....

Upcoming Events

In addition, there are updates about Sandoval's feeling about assorted subjects, including this item, from August 26, 2013: "$$I fucking hate being on ankle$$."

We feel safe in saying he was even unhappier a couple of months later, after being taken into custody in connection with the death of Goggin, 41.

John Goggin.

On October 17, according to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, members of the Edgewater Police Department were called to a home on the 2500 block of Sheridan Boulevard.

There, they found Goggin, who reportedly lived in a garage on the property, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he died a few hours later.

Shortly thereafter, surveillance footage from a nearby camera was analyzed, and images were found of two men who were allegedly at Goggin's place when gunfire rang out. Investigators believed Sandoval was one of them, but they didn't know the identity of the second man. As such, they released several stills in the hope that someone might recognize him.

Continue for more about the conviction of Floyd Sandoval for John Goggin's murder, including additional photos and a video. Here's the first surveillance image, which focused on the man wearing the hat....

...followed by another one that offered a closer look:

Also shared were photos of a vehicle thought to be linked to the missing suspect: a green or blue 2004-2007 Kia Sorento. Here's the first....

...and a second:

In the end, authorities determined that the second man was a Sandoval cohort named Jose Palacio -- and he remained on the loose for a long time. The Jeffco DA's office says he was finally taken into custody in Texas this past August, after which he was extradited back to Colorado, where he's set to go on trial later this month.

As for Sandoval, prosecutors said during the proceedings against him that he'd arranged to buy five pounds of marijuana from Goggin for $13,500. When the time came to make the exchange, however, Sandoval and Palacio allegedly drew guns and tried to rip off the weed.

Goggin is said to have responded by pulling a gat of his own, triggering multiple shots, with one of them striking Goggin in the torso.

Sandoval was hit, too, taking a bullet in the leg. Police were able to trace him after he went to a hospital to be treated for the wound.

This account convinced a jury. After a two-week trial, Sandoval was found guilty on six counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, menacing with a deady weapon, two counts of criminal accessory and conspiracy to possess 25-50 pounds of marijuana (not sure how that math works out, but okay). This week, he was sentenced to life.

Here's a 7News report from last year about the shooting (it was broadcast before the arrest), followed by Sandoval's booking photo.